were a damage to the church; that the purchasing of them for the purposes of religion was a pious work, and not contrary to law, it being notorious, that impropriations are frequently bought and sold by private persons; that the donors of this money gave it for this and such other good uses as the defendants should think meet, and not for the endowment of perpetual vicars; that they had not converted any of the money to their own use, nor erected themselves into a body corporate; and that to their knowledge they had never presented any to a church, or place in their disposal, who was not conformable to the doctrine and discipline of the church of England, and approved of by the ordinary of the place. But notwithstanding all they could say, the court was of opinion that their proceedings were contrary to law, and decreed that their feoffment should be cancel led; that the impropriations they had purchased should be confiscated to the king, and the feoffees themselves fined in the star-chamber; however, the prosecution was dropt as too invidious, it appearing in court by the receipts and disbursements, that the feoffees were out of pocket already. above one thousand pounds. The odium of this prosecution fell upon Laud, whose chancellor told him upon this occasion, that he was miserably censured by the separatists; upon which he made this reflection in his diary, Pray God give me patience, and forgive them.

But his lordship had very little patience with those who opposed his proceedings. We have seen his zeal for pictures and paintings in churches, which some of the puritans venturing to censure in their sermons and writings, were exposed to the severest punishments: Among these were the Rev. Mr. John Hayden of Devonshire, who being forced to abscond, was apprehended in the diocese of Norwich by bishop Harsenet, who after he had taken from him his horse and money, and all his papers, caused him, to be shut up in close prison for thirteen weeks ;* after which, when the justices would have admitted him to bail at the quarter-sessions, his lordship sent him up to the high commission, who deprived him of his ministry and orders, and set a fine upon him for preaching against decorations Usurpation of Prelates, p. 161-62.

and images in churches. In the year 1634, Mr. Hayden venturing to preach occasionally, without being restored, was apprehended again and sent to the Gatehouse by archbishop Laud, and from thence to Bridewell, where he was whipt and kept to hard labor; here he was confined in a cold dark dungeon during a whole winter, being chained to a post in the middle of a room, with irons on his handsand feet, having no other food but bread and water, and a pad of straw to lie on. Before his release he was obliged to take an oath, and give bond, that he would preach no more, but depart the kingdom in a month, and not return. Bishop Harsenet did not live to see the execution of this part of the sentence, though for his zeal against the puritans he was promoted to the archbishopric of York, and made a privy-counsellor. Some time before his disease he not only persecuted the non-conformists, but complained of the CONFORMABLE PURITANS, as he called them, because they complied out of policy and not in judgment. How hard is the case, when men shall be punished for not conforming, and be complained of if they conform! Queen Elizabeth used to say, she would never trouble herself about the consciences of her subjects, if they did but outwardly comply with the laws; whereas this prelate would ransack the very heart.

Henry Sherfield, Esq. a bencher of Lincoln's-inn, and recorder of the city of Sarum, was tried in the star-chamber, May 20th, 1632,† for taking down some painted glass out of one of the windows of St. Edmund's church in Salisbury, in which were seven pictures of God the Father in form of a little old man in a blue and red coat, with a pouch by his side: One represents him creating the sun and moon with a pair of compasses, others as working on the business of the six days creation, and at last he sits in an elbow chair at rest. Many simple people, at their going in and out of church, did reverence to this window (as they said) because the Lord their God was there. This gave such offence to the recorder, who was also a justice of peace, that he moved the parish at vestry for leave to take it down, and set up a

*Fuller's Church History, b. xi. p. 144.

Rushworth, part ii. vol. i.p. 153-156. Prynne's Cant. Doom. p. 102.

new window of white glass in the place, which was accordingly granted, six justices of the peace being present. Some time after Mr. Sherfield broke with his staff the pictures of God the Father, in order to new glaze the window; an account of which being transmitted to London, an information was exhibited against him in the star-chamber, Feb. 8, 1632-3. The information sets forth, that being evil affected to the discipline of the church, he, with certain con'federates, without consent of the bishops, had defaced and 'pulled down a fair and costly window in the church, containing the history of the creation, which had stood there 'some hundred years, and was a great ornament to it; which profane act might give encouragement to other schismatical persons to commit the like outrages."

Mr. Sherfield in his defence says, that the church of St. Edmund's was a lay fee, and exempted from the jurisdiction of the bishop of the diocese; that the defendant, with the rest of the parishioners, had lawful power to take down the glass; and that it was agreed by a vestry that the glass should be changed, and the window made new; and that accordingly he took down a quarry or two in a quiet and peaceable manner; but he avers, that the true history of the creation was not contained in that window, but a false and impious one: God the Father was painted like an old man with a blue coat, and a pair of compasses, to signify his compassing the heavens and earth. In the fourth day's work there were fowls of the air flying up from God their maker, which should have been the fifth day. In the fifth day's work a naked man is laying upon the earth asleep, with so much of a naked woman as from the knees upward growing out of his side, which should have been the sixth day; so that the history is false.

Further, this defendant holds it to be impious, to make an image or picture of God the Father, which he undertakes to prove from scripture, from canons and councils, from the mandates and decrees of sundry emperors, from the opinions of ancient doctors of the church, and of our most judicious divines since the reformation. He adds that his belief is agreeable to the doctrine of the church of England, and to the homilies, which say, that pictures of God are monuments of superstition, and ought to be destroyed; and to queen

Elizabeth's injunctions, which command, that all pictures and monuments of idolatry should be removed out of churches, that no memory of them might remain in walls, glass windows or elsewhere: which injunction is confirmed by the canons of the 13th of Elizabeth. Mr. Sherfield concludes his defence with denying, that he was disaffected to the discipline of the church of England, or had encouraged any to oppose the government of it under the reverend bishops.

Though it is hard to make a tolerable reply to this defence, yet bishop Laud stood up and spake in excuse of the painter, saying, God the Father was called in scripture the ancient of days; adding, however, that for his own part, he did not so well approve of pictures of things invisible; but be the paintings better or worse he insisted strongly, that Mr. Sherfield bad taken them down in contempt of the episcopal authority, for which he moved, that he might be fined a thousand pounds, and removed from his recordership of the city of Sarum; that he be committed close prisoner to the Fleet till he pay his fine, and then be bound to his good behavior. To all which the court agreed, except to the fine, which was mitigated to five hundred pounds.

The Rev. Mr. John Workman, lecturer of St. Stephen's church, Gloucester, in one of his sermons, asserted, that pic, tures or images were no ornaments to churches; that it was unlawful to set up images of Christ or saints, in our houses, because it tended to idolatry, according to the homily.* For which he was suspended by the high commission, excommunicated, and obliged to an open recantation in the court at Lambeth, in the cathedral of Gloucester, and in the church of St. Michael's; he was also condemned in costs of suit and imprisoned. Mr. Workman was a man of great piety, wisdom, and moderation, and had served the church of St. Stephen's fifteen years; in consideration whereof, and of his numerous family, the city of Gloucester had given him an annuity of twenty pounds per annum, under their common seal, a little before his troubles; but for this act of charity, the mayor, town-clerk, and several of the aldermen, were cited before the high commission, and put

Prynne, p. 107, 109.

to one hundred pounds charges, and the annuity was cancelled. After this Mr. Workman set up a little school, of which archbishop Laud being informed, inhibited him, as he would answer the contrary at his peril. He then fell upon the practice of physic, which the archbishop likewise absolutely forbid; so that being deprived of all methods of subsistence, he fell into a melancholy disorder and died. Our bishop was no less watchful over the press than the pulpit, commanding his chaplains to expunge out of all books that came to be licensed, such passages as disallowed of paintings, carvings, drawings, gildings; erecting, bowing, or praying before images and pictures; as appeared by the evidence of Dr. Featly and others at his trial.

This great prelate would have stretched out his arm not only against the puritans in England, but even to reach the factories beyond sea, had it been in his power. The English church at Hamburgh managed their affairs according to the Geneva discipline, by elders and deacons. In Holland they conformed to the discipline of the States, and met them in their synods and assemblies, with consent of King James, and of his present majesty till secretary Windebank, at the instance of this prelate, offered some proposals to the privy-council for their better regulation:* The proposals consisted of ten articles, 1. "That all chaplains ' of English regiments in the Low Countries shall be exact'ly conformable to the church of England. 2. That the 'merchants residing there shall admit of no minister to preach among them, but one qualified as before. 3. That "if any one after his settlement among them proves a non'conformist, he shall be discharged in three months. 4. That the Scots factories shall be obliged to the same 'conformity. 5. That no minister abroad shall speak, 'preach, or print any thing to the disadvantage of the En'glish discipline and ceremonies. 6. That no conformist 'minister shall substitute a non-conformist to preach for 'him in the factories. 7. That the king's agents shall see the service of the church of England exactly performed in the factories.-The last articles forbid the English 'ministers in Holland to hold any classical assemblies, and

*Collyer's Eccles. Hist. p. 752-3. Prynne's Cant. Doom. p. 389.